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Red Onion and Garlic
Red Onion and Garlic, also known as Shallot and Garlic, is a 2013 book based on a popular traditional folklore originated from Southeast Asian archipelago, about two sisters with opposite personalities; one is friendly and one is antagonistic, and an unjust stepmother. The folklore has the same theme and moral as the Western folktale Cinderella. It was released on April 7, 2013. Description The story centers on a pair of step sisters named Red Onion and Garlic. This naming convention is in the same vein as the Western fairy tale sisters of Snow-White and Rose-Red although the previous do not get along as well. The use of these names for the female protagonist and her antagonist is symbolic of their physical similarity (both girls are beautiful) but have completely different personalities. Since the original folktale was passed on orally, different variations of the story exist. In some versions, the Garlic is the good, friendly, kind, and honest daughter, while the Red Onion is sadistic, cruel, mean, nasty, dishonest, and vindictive one. While in the 1959 black and white Southeast Asian movie, it is the other way around, the red onion being watery bringing tears to the eyes and garlic being pungent. However, there are several version about the story of Red Onion and Garlic, one involving a magical pumpkin and the other involved a magical fish. Curiously the second version is very similar to Western Javanese folktale of Leung Li the magical fish. The origin of of the story is unknown and obscure, some suggest that it was a Riau Sumatran Malay folktale that later transmitted into Malay Peninsula, while some holds that it was originated from Student City (present-day Yogyakarta). Nevertheless, despite its unknown origin, the story is popular folktale in both Dutch East Indies and Malaysia. First version In a tropical village, live a widow with her two beautiful daughters named Red Onion and Garlic. However, the Garlic's unnamed biological father, which was also the widows' husband died long ago. Both the Red Onion and the Garlic had different personalities. The Garlic was diligent, honest, kind, friendly, humble, and nice. Meanwhile, her stepsister, the Red Onion was lazy, mean, hostile, dishonest, antagonistic, nasty, glamorous, proud, and envious. The Red Onion's cold personality was worsened because her mother spoiled her. The widow always gave everything she wanted. It was Garlic who did all the work in the house. Doing the laundry, cooking, cleaning essentially all of the work were carried out by herself. Meanwhile, the Red Onion and the widow just spent times making themselves up, because when they needed something they could just ask the Garlic. The Garlic never complained the bad fate she had to face. She always served her stepmother and stepsister happily. One day, the Garlic, was doing her stepmother and stepsister's laundry. The Garlic didn't realize it was a piece of cloth belonging to her stepmother was washed away by the river. How sad was she, thinking that if the cloth couldn't be found, she would be blamed, and it wasn't impossible that she would be punished and kicked out of the house. Being afraid that her stepmother's cloth could not be found, the Garlic kept looking for it and walked along the river with its strong current. Every time she saw someone by the river, she always asked them about her stepmother's cloth which washed away by the river, but unfortunately everyone didn't know where the cloth was. Eventually, the Garlic came to a place where the river flowed into a cave. Surprisingly, there was a very old lady in the cave. The Garlic asked the old lady if she knew of the cloth whereabouts. The old lady knew where the cloth was, but she made a condition before she handed it to the Garlic. The condition was that she had to work assisting the old lady. The Garlic was used to working hard so that her work pleased the old lady. It was late afternoon and the Garlic was saying goodbye to the old lady. The old lady handed the cloth to her. Because of her kindness, the old lady offered her a a gift of pumpkins. There were two of them, one was larger than the other. The Garlic was asked to choose the gift she wanted. Unlike her stepmother and stepsister, she wasn't greedy at all, therefore she choose the smaller one instead. Returning home, her stepmother and stepsister the Red Onion were enraged because the Garlic was came home late. She told them what happened from the time her stepmother's cloth was washed away until her encounter with the old lady in the cave. Her stepmother was still enraged because she was already came home late only brought one small pumpkin, so her stepmother smashed the pumpkin to the ground and the pumpkin was busted, but it was miraculous that in the pumpkin there were beautiful golden jewelry and diamond ornaments. Her stepmother and stepsister were very shocked. The could get very rich instantly with that much jewelry. But the greedy they were, they yelled angrily at the Garlic asking why she didn't take the bigger pumpkin instead. In the widow and the Red Onion's minds, if the bigger pumpkin was taken, they should get get much more jewelry. Fulfilling their greeds, the Red Onion followed the steps told by the Garlic. She willingly drifted her mother's cloth, walked along the river, asked people and eventually came to the cave where the old lady lived. Unlike the Garlic, however, the Red Onion refused to do the old lady's order to work and she even arrogantly ordered the old lady to give her a bigger pumpkin. And so the old lady gave it to the Red Onion. The Red Onion happily brought the bigger pumpkin that the old lady gave, while imagining how much jewelries and golds she would get. Returning home, the widow welcomed her beloved daughter. Not long after, the pumpkin was smashed to the ground, but instead of jewelries, various terrifying venomous snakes, such as king cobras, water moccasins, and rattlesnakes appeared. The widow and the Red Onion finally realized what they had been doing all this time was wrong and asked the Galic to forgive them. Second version The story takes place in a simple village household. The head of this family has two wives, and each wife has their own daughter. The older of the two is the Garlic, while the younger one is the Red Onion. The Red Onion and her mother and jealous of the attention that the father gives the Garlic and her mother, who is also older that his co-wife. When the father dies, the Red Onion and her mother take charge of the household and bullied both the Garlic and her mother into servitude. The Garlic's mother stands up for her daughter, but she soon dies prematurely. One day, while washing the family's laundry in the river, the Garlic's stepmother pushed her into the river and left her to drown. With her biological parents dead and gone, the gentle and obedient Garlic is left alone to be harassed by her cruel, sinister, malicious, and sadistic stepmother and stepsister. Though the Garlic suffers, she is patient. One day, when she is out in the woods, she sees a pond containing a live fish. The fish is able to speak, and tells her that it is her mother who has come back to comfort her. The Garlic is overjoyed to be able to speak with her mother again, and secretly visits the pond whenever she can. But one day, the Red Onion sees the Garlic sneaking off and secretly follows her to the pond, where she witnesses the Garlic talking to the fish. After the Garlic leaves, the Red Onion lures the fish to the surface of the pond and catches it. The Red Onion and her mother slaughter the fish, cook it and feed it to the Garlic without telling her where it came from. Once the Garlic finishes eating, her stepmother and stepsister revealed where they obtained the fish. The Garlic is repulsed and filled with remorse over this revelation. The Garlic gathers the fish bones and bury them in a small grave underneath a tree. When she visits the grave the next day, she is surprised to see that a beautiful swing has appeared from one of the tree's branches. When the Garlic sits in the swing and sings an old lullaby, it magically swings back and forth. The Garlic continues to visit the magic swing whenever she can. One day, while she is on the magic swing, an unnamed prince who is hunting nearby her hears her song. He follows the sound of her voice, but before he approaches her, the Garlic realizes that she is not alone, she quickly runs back home. The prince and his advisors eventually find the home of the Garlic and the Red Onion. (In some versions this happens immediately after the prince's first sighting of the Garlic, but in other versions it happens after a long search made by the prince's advisors). The Red Onion's mother, seeing the opportunity, orders the Garlic to stay hidden in the kitchen. The prince asks about the swing and the girl who sat in it. The Red Onion's mother says that the girl he heard is her beautiful and talented daughter the Red Onion. Though the prince agrees that the Red Onion is beautiful, he requests that she show him how she sang in the magical swing. The Red Onion and her mother reluctantly follow the prince and his advisors back to the magic swing. The Red Onion sits in the swing and attempts to sing so that it will move back and forth, but she cannot. The prince, now mad, ordered the Red Onion's mother to tell the truth. The Red Onion's mother is forced to confess that she has another daughter hidden in her house. The prince brings the Garlic back to the swing, and as she had done many time before, the magic swing starts moving as soon as she begins singing. The prince is overjoyed and asks the Garlic to marry him. She agrees and they live happily ever after. Cast Daphne Blake as Garlic Velma Dinkley as Red Onion Nan Blake as Garlic's mother Barty Blake as Garlic's Father Angie Dinkley as Red Onion's mother Fred Jones Jr as the PrinceCategory:Books Category:Children's Books